I know the last few weeks we have seen and heard so much about sexual assault in the news. I know we want to be done with it. But the best thing we can do for ourselves and each other is to be informed. If you have children or teach children, please talk to them about consent. Resources at bottom of post.
I want to be clear: sexual assault is not anecdotal - it’s epidemic. It happens every single day and we are in desperate need of awareness and education around this fact to be able to achieve a culture shift.
Every 98 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted
Every 8 minutes, that victim is a child
Meanwhile, only 6 out of every 1,000 perpetrators will end up in prison
1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before they turn 18 years old
1 in 3 women experience some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime
1 in 5 women are raped, and 1 in 71 men are raped
8 out of 10 victims knew their rapist
91% of victims of rape and sexual assault are female and 9% are male
Rape is the most under-reported crime; 63% of sexual assaults are not reported to police
The prevalence of false reporting is low — between 2% and 10%
The above statistics and figures are based on studies you can review here and here.
How to talk to kids about consent here.
Helpful 3 minute consent video here.
How this teacher is handling consent in her classroom found here.
